Interview with the coach.
Interview coach of Manchester United Tommy Martin
24-05-2013
Trainer/coach of Manchester United, Tommy Martin (59), has a jubilee this year. It is his tenth appearance at the Marveld Tournament. High time for a review.
Tommy, this is your tenth year as coach of Manchester United at the Marveld Tournament. It must be like coming home for you.
“Haha, absolutely. That is really what it feels like. All the friendly people helping at the tournament, it is really good to see them again. I am always looking forward to this tournament. At the beginning of the season we turn out a program and the Marveld Tournament is always one of the first events to be written down. Marked double well. I notice year after year that the preparation gets more relaxed. Marveld is known to us, we don’t have to worry about a thing. Two months ago we were in China. There we had to wait and see how everything would be organized and what you could expect as a team. Those things are clear here. Wonderful!”
What makes Unites come back to Marveld year after year?
“ We always feel very honored to be invited again, let’s make that very clear. And the rest is simple. Besides the Nike Premier Cup this tournament is the best tournament in the world for this age group. The level of play is huge, the players who participate are all top players. Just take a look at all the star names depicted in the booklet on the tournament. It’s a great opportunity for our players to compete with players of the same age from other European top clubs. We play at relatively few tournaments in a year, but we never miss out on this one. The different habits and cultures they encounter here makes them strong.”
Can you describe the name this tournament has within the academy?
“ As I said this tournament is the first to be put in the program every year. End of May, Marveld, that is how we survey it every year. Everyone within the academy knows the prestige of this tournament. I myself am actually coach of the under 16 team, but for Marveld I always travel with the under 15 team. Four weeks before the start of the tournament we all get together and switch from competition mode to tournament mode. This means that the winner mentality gets emphasized. Usually we only put our attention to the individual development, as happens in every youth team. I don’t care at all where we end up in the competition. Main goal is to enhance the boys and optimize their talent. But at a tournament like this things are different. Then we want to perform.”
You are here now for the tenth time. What memorable moments have stayed with you the most?
“ When I broadly think back on earlier editions, I immediately am reminded of Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley. Both now play in the main force and are English international. But both players also played here at Marveld. I tell them often when we meet, ‘ We are going to Marveld next week, do you remember what that was like?’ And they are frantically enthousiastic. Still know exactly who they played against and with whom they played.
The final last year was a highlight?
“ Absolutely. That was also very important for the development. So we could see that more and more we asserted ourselves here. It was also very nice to return to Manchester and be able to say we won second place. This wasn’t always the case. We haven’t always performed this well. Let’s not be hypocritical about it. But when you talk about highlights I always enjoy the players you see here. Nathan Aké for example. Now a player at Chelsea, but you saw immediately that he was destined for something bigger. Just like Real Madrids striker. Pozo (José Angel Pozo La Rosa, red.) he was called I believe. Immediately on my return to Manchester I recommended him. Right after this he went to Manchester City. That’s how things go here. We spot one, City takes him, haha.”
What also happened about ten years ago was the arrival of René Meulensteen at the academy of United. What things have changed since then?
“ René arrived as technical trainer in 2001. So especially the technical baggage of our youth players has been enhanced. He worked really with the youngest players. Eight, nine, ten years old. After this he has developed it to an ever progressing older age category. Nothing revolutionary has happened since he came. The individual work with the ball was something we already did beforehand. René did add his own twist.”
Second place last year, it must give you a taste for more. Will you go for victory this year?
“Of course we want very much to win this tournament. That’s the aim with which we start every tournament. As I said we always get together four weeks beforehand to prepare ourselves for Marveld. In a tournament like this different things are important than in the competition. The matches are shorter, so you have to be more deadly. Next to that we know how important it is to win the first match. These are small things, but important to get into those heads of our boys. And of course we try to stimulate the boys individually. ‘ Do you know there is a Player of the Match trophee?’, we ask them. And the goalkeepers we tell the same thing. All this to make them perform as best as possible here.”
makes me feel really old.